Monday Card Class and What I Got Up To When My Mojo Deserted Me

Hi Everyone

I hope you are all well and, if you are here in the UK, ready to enjoy the Indian summer that's been forecast.  My apologies for being such a bad blogger since Wednesday ... my mojo had gone AWOL so I had no cards to write about, no projects on the go ... nothing, until today.  I'd missed a couple of weeks at the card class, due to Alan and I both being poorly, but I was able to go back today. Evelyn, our noble leader and Stampin' Up demonstrator, brought along two card kits that used different techniques in the making.

To make this card I used a Bigshot for the first time ... it's not unlike the Cuttlebug to operate. We inked the beautiful Hydrangea stamp in two colours ... a technique I've only tried once before ... stamped it three times in my case because I messed up the first time :( ... and then cut out the flowers and decoupaged them.

I also got to play with a waterbrush for the first time when I drew out the ink in the flower, and liked it ... I usually use a fine paintbrush but I may have to invest in a waterbrush now.

The second was a buckle card. As you can see there's a tab that comes across from the inside and slips through a slot on the front to 'buckle' the front and back together.

Once Evelyn walked me through how to make it, I really liked this card ... it's a bit different. I think it's a great card to send a male friend who is not too well at the moment - I think he'd like the closure.

As mentioned before, I hadn't done anything creative to speak of for several days and I was beginning to get a bit desperate. Oh, I'd taken out some paper, put it away again, taken out some card, put it away again, taken out some stamps and put them away again ... you get the picture ... nothing was happening at all, my creative enthusiasm was well and truly dimmed. So yesterday, I decided that taking some action was better than no action at all. I emptied the stamps out of the  'catfood box' on my desk and catalogued them, first stamping them on to A5 sheets of paper then stamping them on to scraps of card, trying out different coloured inks and sometimes different textured card. Here's the result.

These should be handy if I want to make a quick card in the future - plenty to choose from.

Later whilst watching Downton Abbey ... I'm addicted ... I raided my bead box and made quite a few pins ... my wee stash had got down to two blue pins.

Aren't they pretty ... they will look great pushed into bows and flower embellishments. Most of the beads come from old costume jewellery but a few were begged and borrowed from my jewellery making sister, Margaret. Must pay her bead collection a visit again soon :)  While I was making them I discovered that a piece of thick sponge is ideal for leaving the pins in while the glue sets.

Just a wee reminder that I have an exciting giveaway, donated by  My Memories, of a copy of My Memories Suite Digital Scrapbooking software.  It ends tomorrow, so if you would like the opportunity to try out this fabulous software to make anything from digital scrapbook layouts to a hybrid form of cardmaking then please be sure to check out the details here.

Ah, that's better, I feel as though I'm getting back into the swing of things.  I've a Christmas card or two to make ... I've fallen behind ... and there's a mini mountain of snippets to attack ... so better get cracking. Now, where's my cup of tea ...

Take care all and happy crafting,